I want to get your guys opionon on which one builds strength better calisthenics or weight lifting. I want to see what you all have to say because I am in a weight lifting class in school and I was supprised at how weak I am. My friend zack was benching 190 and squatting 280 while I was benching 120 and squatting 200. He had been training 2-3 month longer than me and we are different body types (me ectomorph him mesomorph). He wights 150 i weight 135 just if you wanted to know and we are same height. He tells me weight lifting is better and I should do that instead but I am not sure and wanted to ask you guys. PS I was on level 8 when I joined the class
look at the bodies (or better weight) of the heavy lifting athletes. if your goal is building as much strength and muscle mass as possible, then weights would be the way to go.
calisthenics is about the strength/weight ratio of your own body. how about doing a clean pull up battle with him? i bet you will be at least on the same level, because he cant handle his extra weight :D
Good answer by Manuel. However the body of that guy, well he's a powerlifter, they don't really care about cutting fat and only care about bulking to get as much mass (fat&muscle) and strength as possible. There's a big difference with lifting for being fit & shredded and lifting for being big & strong, so you can't really judge weightlifting by the looks of people in pictures. It depends on the goal, there's a lot of lean muscular people that only do weightlifting. Manuel is right though, calisthenics is a lot more about strength than getting big (Being big [fat/muscle] also has a downside - makes exercises a lot harder for calisthenics), where as weightlifting, yes it's easier to isolate muscle groups hence easier overload but it doesn't mean you won't build muscle calisthenics.
It's really about what you prefer more. Calisthenics is a lot more fun for me, I've tried weights just once and it's really boring just sitting there lifting the weights. Calisthenics is also a lot more about flexibility, coordination, technique, conditioning, and it's harder to progress but it's damn worth it when you're able to do whatever you want on the bar.
Gligor
Hey Jared, there is no black and white. We could discuss for hours about this topic and in the end we would not find a solution:-)! like the others said, do what you like the most! :-) i prefer doing calisthenics because it is a) cheap, b) you can do it everywhere c) not so boring than weight lifting. however all of my friends go to the gym and they achieve really good results, so of course wheigth lifting is also very good, it depends, like always, how much effort you put into your training! :-)
and i remember reading about a comment from chris where he said that he wants to make a video about calisthenic vs weight lifting. if you want to see a video, there is a good one from "calisthenicsmovement" :-)
I did weight lifting for 6 months before I did calisthenics. At first, I was seeing some results in terms of how much I could lift, but I never really saw any visual results and I eventually plateaued the last two months of lifting the same weights. I also had a terrible sleep regiment (slightly better now, but not significantly better). I was also often afraid that I wouldn't be able to lift a certain weight because I wasn't a very confident person. Anyway, I couldn't get motivated when working out in the gym because half the time I was just waiting for the next set.
I decided to try calisthenics in August. I made a lot of mistakes and injured myself a bit, but it felt better and I was noticeably working my muscles. In October I started CU and while I'm actually surprised at how much my muscles are developing and the results are real both in my physique and how much I can lift (quantity and quality of bodyweight exercises). As a result, I feel much better and more confident, yet I'm still very early on my journey and haven't even entered the intermediate levels.
If you can get a lot of hype when lifting, if it makes you feel great, and if you can get better results with it, then go with that. If calisthenics makes you excited, if it makes you feel great, and if you get better results with calisthenics, go with calisthenics. It's whatever suits you better. :) Good luck!
Manuel